Recently I met with Joanne Lekas, owner and operator of Happy Dog Behavior Training in Waltham, Massachusetts. Joanne is our “go to” trainer and worked with our family on understanding what works and what doesn’t work when training our pups.
Joanne has been at this business for a while and for her it is truly a passion. Joanne spent the better part of 30 years in Corporate America. The skills she honed there serve her well in the dog training world, such as presenting and teaching to diverse groups of people and identifying solutions to complex problems.
Many readers and their dogs haven’t worked directly with a trainer while some may have used a trainer along with other obedience tools.
Joanne met with me to answer some basic questions about puppy training, dog obedience and training older dogs, as well.
Mrs. G.: Joanne, why is dog training important to the dog and the owner?
Joanne: Training helps provide clear communication from owner to dog and dog to owner; this is the foundation for a successful and happy relationship. Understanding each other strengthens the bond between you and your dog. Lack of understanding creates frustration and impatience for humans. This same lack of understanding can contribute to the breakdown of the relationship between dog and owner.
Not being able to get the behavior you want from your dog often results in anger, further destroying the relationship. The number one reason dogs get surrendered to shelters is due to behavioral issues.
Basic training can often prevent behavior issues from developing in the first place. Training will help ensure that all of the family has happier, rewarding lives with their dog.K9 training Houston
Mrs. G.: When should training begin?
Joanne: As soon as your puppy comes home. A good breeder will start training puppies when they are even younger. A puppy learns by the consequence of his actions so you can start providing good consequences for any desired behavior right away.
It’s not about putting the behavior on command right away, but you can reward your new puppy every time they come to you, every time they look at you, or do other desired behaviors.
And of course housetraining starts the moment you bring your puppy home.
“Every time you are with your dog, one of you is being trained. It is better to be the trainer than the trainee.” This is one of my favorite quotes from a well-known trainer, Steve White.
Mrs. G.: What works best, individual or class training?
Joanne: There are benefits to both. Private training provides information and training tailored to the individual owners’ needs. This can be helpful for the first time puppy owner, for breed specific information, housetraining, crate training, family dynamics, etc.
Private training is also the best way to address specific behavior issues such as fear, resource guarding, reactivity to other dogs or strangers, etc. I can focus on teaching at a pace that suits the owners and family.
Puppy classes are a great addition to private training and provide added socialization to new people, places and other puppies. It also provides a structured way to practice with the added distractions in a class setting.
Mrs. G.: Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Joanne: Absolutely. It’s a matter of teaching the dog that a new behavior is more rewarding than the old behavior. Depending on how long the ‘undesirable’ behavior has been going on, and how strongly its been inadvertently rewarded, this can take some time. Training in the new behavior will take consistency and extra rewards initially.